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Honda City versus Toyota Vios in the Philippines

I had the same problem before. Toyota vs Honda. Masa vs Class (like everybody is saying). I started testing several brand new cars and ended up choosing from 4 cars namely Vios, City, Altis and Civic. I’m an image freak also rooting for Honda because I want to avoid the Masa image also of Toyota. After several surveys, online forums and recommendations from different people, I ended up buying Altis and I never regret it.

Here were some inputs that I considered:

“Image”
Toyota = Masa image..yuck jologs..Civic – conyo, class…etc (screw this mentality)..Not because I have Altis. According to mechanics and car specialist even buy and sell people, generally it’s true Honda reigns in Private cars, well back in the late 90s but today its Toyota who’s winning the image race. I am also a resident in the US and behold most people have vios and corollas than civics ( I think i haven’t seen any city yet). Check also some car shows online and see how Toyota shines over Honda. Design wise, Vios wins by a mile over City.

“Resale Value”
Honda sells higher than Toyota. I also heard this a lot but after checking with some 2nd hand retailers and owners even online ones, both brands have the same price. It always boils down to mileage, car condition and other factors. If you’re really planning to sell your car in the future, think of it this way, how many honda enthusiast buy cars? 1, 2?…how many toyota enthusiast buy cars? 1, 2? Now how many “taxi” businessman and public authorities buy toyota cars? Hundreds, Thousands… See my point? So the “Masa” image is also an advantage after all…

“Tibay ng Kaha”
Most people that I asked preferred the old city/civics than new ones because of metal thickness and durability. In terms of durability and driver safety I go for Toyota, not to mention my bumper was hit by a bus on the side, the bumper didn’t have any deformation. You can even check it yourself. Toyota cars are by far thicker than Honda. See how totally wrecked a Honda when you see it in the news?

“Space” and “Power”
Try to call some people and check if 3-4 people will comfortably fit at the back. Overload it with people then test drive it. See if the car’s engine will have a hard time. I tested 1.3s 1.5s which is why i ended up 1.6 Corolla Altis. You’ll never know but there will come a time that your car needs to be overloaded. If you plan to go to Baguio, go for 1.5 higher.

“Fuel efficiency”
It’s hard to trust people with regards to this one because we have different driving styles. Determine it on your own when you test drive brand new ones.

“Price and Maintenance”
If City and Vios have the same price. Then I go for Vios because of parts availability and cheaper maintenance. Not to mention surplus on a tight budget.

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6 comments for “Honda City versus Toyota Vios in the Philippines”

Riceronies

Monday, April 13th, 2009 10:42 am GMT +8 at 10:42 am

guys please… Toyota & Hondas especially those cars you are mentioning are all economy cars. I don’t know why you guys see honda civics as “classy” cars. They’re all pang masa. They’re all dime-a-dozen man. No difference! Problem in the Philippines is… IMAGE conscious!! Who cares? As long as the car gets you from point A to B that solves the issue. Puro kayo kasi porma eh.

City na lng instead f Vios. Yes, filipinos are image conscious and you cannot do anything about it, if you have the money to “porma” then do if not dont!

lets make things simple, if you want a personal car choose the 2009 City , if you want a taxi type vehicle then choose the Vios or better yet save your money and just ride a cab everyday.( Vios = Taxi)

The Vios has been the number 1 selling compact sedan in its category since its introduction and with good reasons. As far as fuel efficeincy is concerned, the Vios takes the bag. Toyota’s engines produce more low end grunt which makes the car move effortlessly compared to Honda’s VTEC engines which need more revs to produce power. As the City may rev farther, the Vios would prove more adequeate especially with the kind of environment that we have. Besides, both cars would still sail by the motorway quickly.

Design-wise, it would be a toss-up on what you would prefer. The City being more proggressive-looking may look more hip than the Vios. Of course, this is not to say that the Vios does not look good, especially with the newly introduced Vios S variant which stands with 17″ alloys and a ducktail spoiler. So as far as image is concerned, the Vios is still at par with the City.

In the end though, both are equally good cars and it is just a matter of what one prefers. It is true that Filipinos are image conscious, and that somehow we have given labels to automotive manufacturers. At the end of the day though, we should think about it that perhaps it is a curse more than anything else.

“image”
u cant see a honda city in the US because it’s not available in the US.

“resale value”
hondas cannot be made into taxis in the philippines. thus, they have less unit sales. More businesses buy vios than city because vios are cheaper and have more discounts if u buy in bulk (fleet discount).

“tibay ng kaha”
what matters here is the safety rating determined by standardized testing associations such as IIHS. the damage sustained by the vehicle is less important than the ability of the vehicle to protect its passengers. in short, khit lasog lasog na ang sasakyan mo, basta buhay ang pasahero, ok na! that being said, both vios and city dont perform well in this category. u should go for higher models if that is your concern.

there’s nothing wrong with being image conscoious. in fact, it’s important when you are a businesman. imagine trying to get an investor to trust u when u are driving a cheap car? everybody has his or her own reason for choosing a car. i agree with what Red said. if u have money to porma, then do. if not, dont. nobody has a right to tell u what to do with your money.

yes, both city and vios are econo cars, but we are talking about the Philippine setting here. in the philippines, honda has a better brand image.